Facebook 'in talks to buy' Israeli crowdsourced navigation app Waze

Facebook is in advanced talks to buy Israeli crowdscourced navigation start-up
Waze for between $800 million and $1 billion (£514 million - £642 million),
according to a report in Israeli business daily Calcalist.

Would-be lenders might check you out on social media sites like Facebook to see whether you seem irresponsiblePhoto: Alamy

The report suggests Facebook began negotiating with Waze six months ago and is now in advanced due diligence on a deal.

Waze - which has around 44 million users, 12 million of which are in the US - shares satallite positioning data from its users' smartphones with other users, generating real-time traffic maps. The app has already incorporated Facebook, allowing users to share journey information with friends.

According to Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, the main sticking point in the navigation company's demand to remain in Israel. Facebook has previously purchased two Israeli start-ups, facial recognition specialist Face.com in June 2012 for £30 million - 40 million andfeature phone app developer Snaptu in March 2001 for £45 million. Facebook closed the local offices of both companies and moved them to the US. While Waze is based in Israel, its CEO Noam Bardin works out of its US offices in Facebook's former home Palo Alto.

Waze reportedly received and rejected a much smaller offer from Facebook six months ago, between £130 million and £190 million).

Were a deal to go ahead it would be the latest of several mobile acquisitions by Facebook, with the social network increasingly focusing on the market. In 2012, in the run up to its IPO, Facebook bought photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion (£642 million). Like the Instagram deal, the offer for Waze is reportedly made up of a mix of cash and Facebook stocks.